Critical Theories since Plato to Post-modernism

Objective Theory

In The Mirror and The Lamp, M. H. Abrams proposes that we can divide any work up into four areas of study: The relationship between the universe as a whole and the work itself, between the audience and the work, between the author and the work, or re ...More

Expressive Theory

Formerly “Expressionism” is a German movement in painting but later on, it extended its access to other literary arts too. Expressive criticism treats a literary work primarily in relation to the author. It defines poetry as an expression, or ove ...More


Mimetic Theory: Introduction

The mimetic theories judge a literary work of art in terms of imitation. This is the earliest way of judging any work of art in relation to reality whether the representation is accurate (verisimilitude) or not. For this purpose, all these theories t ...More

On the Sublime by Longinus

Longinus defines sublime as a kind of loftiness and excellence in language raising the style of the ordinary language. Sublimity springs from a great and lofty soul, thereby becoming “one echo of a great soul". It should not only be distinct and ex ...More


An Essay of Dramatic Poesy by John Dryden: An Overview

An Essay of Dramatic Poesy gives an explicit account of neo-classical theory of art in general. Dryden is a neoclassic critic, and as such he deals in his criticism with issues of form and morality in drama. However, he is not a rule bound critic, ti ...More

Poetry: A note on Ontology by John Crowe Ransom

Ransom main idea hare in the essay poetry: A Note on Ontology is to assert the ontological status of poetry. Ransom divides poetry in to two broad groups. One groups that talk about things. More


Structure Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Science

The present essay can be regarded as the manifesto of post modernism, deconstruction and post structuralism. No philosopher has recently such great influence on critical theory as Derrida, with whom the concept of deconstruction is primarily associat ...More

Anxiety of Authorship by Gilbert and Gubar

Gilbert and Gubar collaborately influenced the advancement of both the study of women writers and feminist literary theory. They trace a female literary tradition and thus combat what they term women’s ‘anxiety of authorship’, while seeking for ...More


The Experimental Novel by Émile Zola: An Overview

The essay begins with the two terms 'observation' and 'experiment' in which the former is related to sense perception whereas later is proved to be true or good. Observation indicates while experiment teaches. Experimentalist, being a true observer, ...More

Colonial and Post Colonial Theory

Without colonialism there would be no post-colonialism. Colonialism is about the dominance of a strong nation over another weaker one. Colonialism happens when a strong nation sees that its material interest and affluence require that it expand outsi ...More